Zeroes
by Mirrankei
Summary: Short drabbles for the various Zeroes of Zero Escape. Not sure if I'm done with this or not! VLR Zeroes might have to join in. Spoilers all the way through. 1: "I dreamed of a hilltop, a ship, and dead rabbits. But mostly, I dreamt of fire."
1. Akane

The door creaked open. My breath caught in my throat, and I held it there to stop myself from making a noise. I wanted to run to him, to embrace him and beg him for help and forgiveness. But even as the thought entered my mind, I could feel the flames licking at my arms.

I forced myself to relax.

Junpei was looking at the window, just as I remembered. He was frowning thoughtfully at it with that sleepy confusion that came with exhaustion. He seemed to shake himself out of a trance, then stepped forward to close the window.

I stepped forward as well, and dropped my cannister to the floor.

He turned around just as I came out of the shadows. His eyes widened, and he choked on the gasp that came from his throat at the sight of me. He stumbled, trying to step backwards and forwards at the same time, and seemed to trip over his own feet.

I winced as he hit the floor, the expression hidden by my mask. He struggled to rise, but his eyes caught on the cannister in front of his face. He gasped again, inadvertently taking in a large dose of the gas that billowed out of it. His eyes began to glaze over as they rolled to stare up at me. If I didn't act fast, I would miss my chance to say my lines.

"Consider this a privilege," I said, doing my best to stay calm. "You have been chosen."

I could hear my own voice under the mask, but it was echoed by the electronic distorter that was built in. It sounded harsh and terrifying. We had played with the sounds before, as well as many other models of the same product, laughing and shouting spooky things at one another. This wasn't the same. I didn't feel like myself. And at the time, I wasn't. I couldn't be, not for the past nine years, and not until this was all over.

Akane died in the lower decks of a cruise ship. I was Zero.

"You are going to participate in a game," I continued, before Junpei could pass out completely. I was echoing the words I had heard through his ears. They were the same words that were spoken to me as I fell asleep in my brother's arms at the free clinic in the basement of a pharmaceutical company. "The Nonary Game. It is a game where you will put your life on the line."

Junpei's head dropped to the floor, and his eyes rolled back into his head before closing. I stood for a moment more, watching for any further signs of movement. There were none.

I dropped down myself, crouching next to his still body. I ran one gloved hand through his hair. He didn't stir.

"I am so sorry about this, Jumpy." The nickname sounded strange with my distorted voice. Cruel. Mocking.

I stood up quickly. That was enough of Akane for now. There would be plenty of time for that later. Zero did not play favorites. This was a test, to tap into the powers of the morphogenetic field. Junpei was a test subject, nothing more. The success of the Nonary Game depended on that.

I gathered my canister and opened the window to let the gas escape. At the same time, I signaled to my men downstairs.

After only 18 seconds, my bluetooth blipped at me. I answered.

"You got him?" Aoi asked.

"Yes. The rest?"

"All confirmed. We can begin transport as soon as you get back with Number 5. Q is ready to go as well."

"Good." I stepped over Junpei's still body as my men, all dressed as I was, came in through the door. I didn't watch as they injected him with a more long-term sedative, to keep him asleep through the long journey to Nevada. I left his apartment to wait down in our vehicle instead.

"Akane," Aoi said quietly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I took a deep breath of fresh air as I unclasped my gas mask. It was cold, and slipped down my throat like ice. But I could still feel the fire overwhelming me. "What choice do I have, Aoi?" I said simply. "I don't want to die."

My brother didn't answer. He didn't have to. I knew how he felt. I had felt the inside of his mind before, albeit briefly, not even half as strongly as my connection with Junpei. He wouldn't let me die again. He had memories of both streams, blinding headaches when he tried too hard to reach for one or the other.

"I'll see you at the first checkpoint," he said instead. "Let me know if you have any problems loading the cargo."

The cargo. My people were loading the cargo into the truck at that very moment. A large, heavy duffel bag. Customized to allow the flow of oxygen, so that he wouldn't suffocate on the trip. We would be joining some of the other trucks at the checkpoint, three hours from now, then the rest at the second, three hours from then. Some of the cargo was being taken by air, but we would all arrive at Building Q on schedule.

I climbed into the front passenger seat. I didn't dare look in the back. Instead, I let myself drift off, my head against the window.

I dreamed of a hilltop, a ship, and dead rabbits. But mostly, I dreamt of fire.


	2. Aoi

"So, this is the idiot who's gonna save you, huh?"

My sister looked up from her work, following my gaze to Jun– to Subject 5's still body. She smiled. "Don't worry," she said cheerfully. "You'll like him."

Was that a reassurance or a memory? No point asking. "Well, if you trust him, I trust him," I said dismissively.

"He'll like you too," she continued, oblivious to my nerves. She resumed fiddling with the bracelets, making certain they were all set correctly.

"Well of course he will. I'm amazing."

Akane laughed. "He also finds you annoyingly stuck up and pointlessly contradictory."

"But in an endearing way."

"Well, that might have been biased by my looking through him," she said thoughtfully. She looked wistful, and didn't say anything else. She stood up after a few minutes, satisfied with the bracelets. She paused to attach each one to its new owner, then beckoned to me to follow her. I did so, and we left our few remaining underlings to transfer the cargo to their rooms. With all of our subjects in place, they would leave, taking their pay and going to places unknown. We were generous in that regard, but we could hardly guarantee a longstanding career once the Nonary Game was over.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked Akane.

She looked at me, surprised. "Of course. I'm… I'm honestly excited for it. After nine years of preparation…"

"You're a twisted little lady, sis," I said, and ruffled her hair.

Akane saw right through me. Was she reading my mind, or was I just that predictable? "Are you ready for this, Aoi?"

"Yeah, yeah. It'll be fun." I didn't look directly at her. After a deep breath, I glanced at her from the side of my eye. "Can you tell me anything more on what to expect?"

"I don't know that I should. Or could. You know as much about the setup as I do."

"Sure, but knowing the puzzles doesn't help much when you gotta deal with a bunch of potential psychopaths."

"We're all potential psychopaths." Akane looked into the distance, seeing something I couldn't. "Anyway, I don't really remember the details. I'm not seeing the futures now, Aoi, I saw them nine years ago. I'm not going to remember every little thing that happens. And I only know what Junpei saw– will see– once we split up, we'll be going blind."

"I guess so," I said, stretching to scratch the back of my neck.

"Just do what comes naturally," she said with a smile. "If it wasn't something you weren't supposed to do, you wouldn't do it."

"Unless it's one of the actions that leads to us all being murdered with an axe," I muttered.

"Or a knife," Akane sighed. "Or just fading away…"

I grabbed her hand tightly. "That's not going to happen."

Akane smiled sadly. "Of course it won't. Well, it will, but only in one future. In the others…"

"Don't start that again," I said, and chucked her fondly over the back of her head.

She giggled, and I grinned. It was good to see her happy. I hadn't seen Akane this happy in… probably about nine years. It was like having the old Akane back. After nine years of getting to know Zero, it was a refreshing change.


End file.
